Our Trained Dog???

Okay, I have to be honest... The first few days we got Libby home, she was doing wonderful! But, each little day brings on more & more of her previous bad behaviors. Although things are still much better, we are now struggling when people come to the door & with her jumping up on my counters when she thinks no one is watching. So, if you come to my house, know that this is a work in progress. We might be slow to opening the door, as we are trying to calm Libby down. And then you have to ignore her, so she realizes you are not here to see HER!

All in all, she is a wonderful dog & all we ask for is a loyal companion. She sure does a great job at that! She loves attention and will do any asked behavior for a treat. So, we'll just keep working with her and as she grows older, she'll learn more and more every day.

Alright... Off to the dog park:)

Our Trained Dog!

While we were gone in Orlando, we sent Libby off to a boarding obedience school in Little Falls. (free advertising - Willow Creek Kennels) We just got to pick her up this past weekend & she is doing well & happy to be home. They took the puppy right out of her! She is so much more calm. The door bell ringing is no longer a wet greeting... I can make dinner without her paws checking things out on my counters... She lays on her bed while we eat dinner, instead of having to be put in her crate... She sits, heels, comes, and lays for us very easily now. She is doing wonderful! We are thrilled to have her home with us & she is getting much needed love.

Mickey's Full Marathon

I finally got our pictures from the Disney Marathon. Here are a few of Jim & I running and finishing TOGETHER! What fun:)

Goofy Challenge!

Well, it's over! I ran the Goofy Challenge & Jim ran the full marathon with me. We had a blast, running together. I really enjoyed doing the goofy challenge - where I ran a half marathon Saturday morning & a full marathon Sunday morning. I was a little worried about how my legs would handle it all, but I felt great. Disney does such a wonderful job, it sure inspires you! Jim did an awesome job with the full & is so thankful that he can finally retire the running shoes:(

Oh... the story behind these shirts... We got so many complements on these!... I lived by my shirt & we finished TOGETHER!

Here we are at about mile 22, at MGM Studios

After two days of running, we enjoyed the whole rest of the week in Orlando, FL. My parents stayed with us until Tuesday (they helped watch the kids while we ran) and we enjoyed Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney, and MGM Studios.

The whole gang, at Animal Kingdom

Our family with Mickey & Minnie

We are all thankful to be home now, and in need of some good rest!

We are off!

It is finally here! Jim & I will be running Disney's Marathon! I am actually doing the Goofy Challenge. So, I will run a half marathon on Saturday morning (earning a Donald medal) and then Jim & I will BOTH run the full marathon on Sunday morning (earning Mickey medals). Then, I will get a Goofy medal for finishing both???? After lots of bad-weather training runs, we're ready for a sunny, long, run! We're running it TOGETHER & will post pictures once we are home!

Sean's meal

Okay, what can you expect from a 5 year old, making your meal? It was definitely one of Sean's favorites. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and french fries!!! (I am beginning to worry about my diet!) Oh yes, and cut up apples. Which, amazingly, he can cut up all by himself. And for some reason, this child is always asking if we can eat our meals in the basement (maybe because that is where the Wii and PS2 are located?). So, he even planned to have us eat downstairs. Then, Zach helped him conjure up the idea to watch a movie while we eat dinner, like the Cinema Cafe in New Hope. Of course the boys were all over this. So, they picked out the movie and we all watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while eating dinner, up at the bar. This is totally Sean's style!

Here Sean is, spreading the peanut butter. It was literally all I could do to not help him get the peanut butter spread evenly on each piece of bread!Here Sean is, cutting up the apples. He's a pro at this! Here, Sean was inviting us all down to eat dinner and watch our movie. We got quite the little speech. We were even told to, "please turn off all cell phones". Do you think we go to too many movies?

Sean's plate. PB&J sandwiches, french fries, and apples.

Now, MY turn!

Crazy Day!!!

Okay, I ended up having the craziest day! First of all, Jim & I met for lunch today at this place right off of 694 (near Shingle Creek, in Brooklyn Center?). So, we got done around noon & I am on my way to drive home on the side roads. As I am driving and talking on the phone, a cop car goes rushing by with sirens. Soon, another... And another... And another... And another... And another... And another! So, now I am saying, "Hmm? I wonder what is going on?" And as I say this, I come upon a road block of about 20+ police & sheriff vehicles. So, I stop (because I have NO where to go, with all four lanes (both sides of traffic) being blocked). And as I am sitting there, with no place to go, at least 3-4 more cop cars come rushing in. Then, I see cops, jumping out of their vehicles, with guns. So now I decide it is time to GET OUT OF DODGE! So, I "screw-a-u-ee" and start heading the other way. Well, now they have that road blocked off, not letting traffic through (to the place I am already stuck in). So, the cop car sees me trying to get out of there & is yelling, "Go! Go! Go!"... Like I didn't know that! So, I get home, check online, check the news..., there was no story to be found. So, if anyone knows anything?

Then, tonight... Jim is sitting in the den, in the front of our house, & starts to notice flames between the two houses across the street. (we live on a circle, so you can see through the homes across the street, to the home across the street from them) So he yells, "Chrys, a house is on fire, call 9-1-1!" So, I do & then we both run outside. I kid you not, this house went up in flames within a matter of seconds! By the time the fire trucks got here, the flames were higher than the 2-story homes across the street from us. The flames & smoke were incredible! We ended up having the Maple Grove, Osseo, Brooklyn Park, and Champlin fire trucks here. At one time, we counted 16 fire trucks. And that doesn't even include the single volunteer guys that came in in their own vehicles, because we saw lots of them driving through too. Thankfully, everyone & the dog inside the house got out safely! But the house is done. I can not even describe this whole experience, as you see tragedy so close to home..., you worry about the people who live there..., you gather with friends and neighbors in awe..., you see strangers come to see what happened..., you talk to the fire men, the cops, the reporters..., you see all the utility vehicles that come for code reasons. This is quite the experience. The fire started before 5:30 & here at 8:30, we still have fire trucks & cops out in front of our house working on things. So, after seeing how fast a fire spreads, a huge lesson has been learned! For all of you out there... If you EVER have a fire that you are struggling to get under control, get everyone out of the house immediately. Within seconds, the house can be engulfed in flames. This was a learning tool for our whole family.

Now, the scary thing... Don't things usually come in 3's?

Lauryn's meal

Lauryn made a delicious meal! She chose to go with the Asian theme, and she made Mandarin Orange chicken, noodles, fruit-ka-bobs, fortune cookies, and pockys. She pretty much was able to do the whole thing by herself and I enjoyed the time with her, teaching her how to use the oven and stove top safely.

Here she is, getting the chicken ready to get in the oven.

The spread... fruit of your choice, chicken, noodles, pocky, and fortune cookies. Hers was a well planned, thought out meal! We did this meal "buffet style".

And, the chop sticks really did fit this meals theme!

Lauryn's plate. Everyone really enjoyed it!

Next up, Sean???

Tagged again...

So, I got tagged again. This one instructs you to go in to your picture files, open the 6th file & upload the 6th picture and blog about it. So, here it is:

This was obviously before Christmas. The kids & I made & decorated Christmas cookies. In this picture, the kids are busy frosting the cookies. This is one of our holiday traditions & the cookies never last long!

And now, I tag... Lauryn, Jen, Christine, and Becky:)

Tonight's meal...

So, the kids asked if one night out of each week, one person could plan and make our dinners. Tonight was our first night and it was Zach's turn. So, he planned out the whole meal, then we went grocery shopping and bought everything that he felt he needed. Then we came home and he did all the work... He washed the fruit and put it in a bowl. He microwaved the hot dogs (yum, yum). He set the table. He served everyone & dished up their food on their plates. He worked hard! I did not have to do ONE thing to help out!

Here is Zach, getting every one's place set. He even poured everyone their milk and water.

Here is a picture of our well balanced meal... hot dogs, mixed berries, crackers, and gold fish. Notice that we also had to buy & use chop sticks, because that just fit our meal theme and we needed some sort of utensil to eat our hot dogs and berries:)

Very proud of himself and his well appreciated work!

Zach's plate... He worked very hard because these were "the special recipe" hot dogs! These are much better hot dogs because they are crunchy. They taste much better when you add goldfish and cheez-its.

Next is Lauryn's turn... Stay tuned...